The Big Chili Cook-off Music and Arts Festival is going for bigger, better, let’s blow the doors off this year, and 1stBank Evergreen has climbed on for the ride. They were a big sponsor last year and they have signed on again. The Big Chili is thrilled to put our names on the same marquis as 1stBank. They are a bank that has embedded themselves in the mountain community, offering their support to a wide variety of organizations, doing their part to keep it all moving. It is a matter of heroes honoring heroes, when 1stBank steps up to support our Volunteer Firefighters. As the saying goes, it takes one to know one! Thank you 1stBank!

There are many reasons to support The Big Chili Cook-Off. The best reason is, of course, that the event puts money into the hands of our volunteer fire departments. This money translates into equipment and technology and actually makes our community safer.

But here in Evergreen, even when we’re raising money for a cause, we still like to have a good time, with rockin’ music, great food and drink, and tons of fun. We have many things we love about the event, but some of our favorites are these:

The Mountain Firefighters Challenge – we get to watch our firefighters don their full gear and run an obstacle course, demonstrating speed, strength and skill. It’s a little friendly competition where the winner takes the honors.

Our Children’s Area – we have an awesome play area and activities to make the day fun for our little ones. Then we run a Mountain Firefighters Challenge for our aspiring firefighters where they get to don the gear and compete just like their grown-up counterparts.

The Art Vendors – Evergreen is full of artisans who are both gifted and skilled. Their creations are one-of-a-kind works of art, and each piece is available to be viewed by many, and purchased by one lucky individual. Come on out to The Big Chili Cook-Off this year and experience the Arts on a local level.

Although The Big Chili Cook-Off is a fundraising event for our mountain-area volunteer fire departments, it is, at its heart, an arts festival that features artists, food, retail vendors and live music from some pretty fabulous bands. If you were in the crowd last September, you not only heard the talent of some great musicians, you got to experience the energy of hearing them live. Being at a concert is so different from listening in any other way. The band itself, combined with its music, mixed with the personality and rhythm of the crowd gives the experience a life of its own. Put that in an outdoor, mountain venue and you’ve got a unique occurrence that just can’t be duplicated anywhere else.

The Big Chili is working on lining up bands for the event this September. We get pretty excited about this aspect of the event, and we know you do, too. As musicians come on board, we’ll let you know what you have to look forward to. Check facebook for recent information and news about The Big Chili Cook-Off.

Last year at The Big Chili Cook-Off, we had many gifted local artisans displaying and selling their wares at vendor booths. Our art vendors were in the Lake House, and it was a favorite spot of many.

We love having local artists as well as business vendors at the event. Along with our activities, children’s area, chili cooks and emergency service vehicles, we end up with a full, fun and exciting event.

What more would you like to see? You are a part of this, and we’d love to have your input. If you have any ideas, please share them here.

We are looking for feedback from those who attended The Big Chili Cook-Off last year. What did you like? What would you like to see more of? What new things would you like to see?

One of the best-liked booths at the event was the JeffCo Sheriff’s mobile command center. Everyone seemed to love seeing the inner workings of law enforcement, and its ability to set up a remote criminal investigation unit. People got to meet deputies and see how the command center worked. Did you enjoy this booth? We’d love to hear from you.

A tradition since 1996, Skate the Lake is a non-alcoholic event that is geared for families offering ice skating, fireworks, fire barrel bonfires, sleigh ride, food, music, games and more. Many this past December 31 brought in the New Year safely and had a fabulous time doing it. There were two firework displays, one at 8pm and one at midnight. If you missed this great event, there’s still plenty of opportunity to skate Evergreen Lake, enjoying the crisp Rocky Mountain air and sunshine while having lots of fun. In fact, today is the perfect day. Let’s go!